Cold, hopefully clear. It was clear during the day but started to get a bit cloudy with dusk, so it could continue cloudy today. High yesterday might have been in the 60s. A little bit warmer would be nice.
After my pickup, I stopped in at costco. I try to avoid the place on a Saturday, as it’s usually insanely busy. That worked to my advantage yesterday as all the lanes had cashiers and it went very smoothly. Some things were finally on sale. Charmin. Kleenex. Still none of the frozen cheeseburgers I like though. Oddly, australian lamb was CHEAPER by a buck or two. That HAS to be a currency thing.
They had a couple of beef cuts I haven’t seen there before and there were a couple that were “economical” like “beef stew” and eye round roasts at $4.xx per pound. I don’t usually buy that cut, because it’s super lean and can be tough. Thought I’d give it a try with the same sort of cooking I used on the prime rib. Worked ok, was done the way I wanted, had a great beef roast taste, but yeah, much tougher than the ribeye cut. Hamburger was $4.19 for 82/18 (lean vs fat) which I can’t even get at HEB anymore. So I bought a package. Already repacked as 1 1/2 pound freezer vac packs. Had to increase my single meal size from 1 pound to 1 1/3 pound and now to 1 1/2 pound as the kids have grown.
Looks like I’m going to have to figure out how to cook beef brisket as it was the cheapest beef in the cooler… and my Texas man card might be revoked if they realize I don’t know how 😉 It was less than $3/pound. Grind it and mix with hamburger??
Menu planning might have to get ‘creative’ if things keep getting weird. Like duck for $3.69/ pound. Granted you’re buying the bones too, but still, pretty cheap for a change of pace. That said a single frozen duck was still $21. Is that where we are? Dinner for a family of four at home, $30-40? That USED to be a nice meal at a sit down casual restaurant.
My current weekly meal “plan” is to have some cheap nights and some that are nicer but still inexpensive because I got the main meat on sale. (Plan is in “quotes” because I rarely have an actual plan.)(and I know talking about the economics of food can be divisive because of peoples’ differing situations and expectations. For a baseline, I use the Joy of Cooking, pre-1980s edition, for an idea about what dinner in America should look like with a bit of effort, and a middle class income.) My goal is to expose the kids to a variety of things, eat what I like and what they like, and do it as economically as possible while maintaining quality and quantity. That said, I’ve already altered my buying and cooking habits in the last couple of years or a bit longer. Doesn’t seem that long, and I had to revise the sentence to make the period longer, once I considered it.
Stocking up on sale items and just not buying stuff that isn’t on sale has been my main money saving strategy. That is kinda the heart of prepping too, buy now to save later…
I appreciate those of you who are sharing your dinner and menu choices too, and your local shopping reports. Information is power. And a burden shared is a load lightened.
Stack it if the price is right.
nick